After 32 years of teaching, the Memorial Elementary School fifth grade Language Arts teacher Tom Rounds announced on his Facebook page today that he is retiring from the Brunswick Schools at the end of this school year.

“Our legislators have changed Ohio laws affecting our teacher pension system and it actually hurts me financially to stay in education any longer,” Rounds wrote. “I am a ‘life-long Blue Devil,’ having attended the Brunswick Schools as a student to being given the privilege of spending a 32 year career as a teacher in the same school system I grew up.”

Rounds went on to say that he has “really enjoyed” his time in education.

“The Brunswick Schools are an excellent place to be a student and a teacher,” Rounds wrote. “There are so many people to thank and reflect on over my whole career - I need to take the time over the next few weeks to thank them personally.”

Rounds made special mention of his students over the years.

“I have always loved my students as if they were my own,” he wrote. “I have developed life-long friendships with many of them. If you have in any way crossed paths with me over the years I want to thank you for having a part in making me the teacher and man I am today.”

Rounds, a Parma Heights resident who lists “travel, theatre, reading, spin class and relaxation” on his Brunswick City Schools teacher web page as his favorite things to do,said he is uncertain about his specific plans following retirement.

As the current Brunswick Education Association president, representing about 460 Brunswick teachers, it is a safe bet that the district’s upcoming teacher contract negotiations this fall are no longer on Rounds’ to-do list.

“I don’t know what is next for me but I know I will be happy,” Rounds wrote.

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